Running-gear for vehicles.



(No Model.)

atented Oct. I7, |899 C. A. MCNAUGHTUN.

RUNNING GEAR FOR VEHICLES. (Appumion med :une 23, 1899.)

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CHARLES A. MCNAUGHTON, OF SPRAGUES MILL, MAlNE.

RUNNINGGEAR FOR VEHICLES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 634,993, dated October 17, 1899. Application filed J'une 23, 1899. Serial No. 721,605. (No model.)

.Be itknown that I, CHARLES A. MCNAUGH- TON, a citizen of the United States, residing at S pragues Mill, in the county of Aroostook and State of Maine, have invented a new and useful Running-Gear, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in running-gear.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction ofrunning-gear for vehicles, more especially the means for mounting the front bolster ou the front axle, and to provide a simple, light, and durable construction which will be especially adapted for lumber-wagons and similar vehicles.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a running-gear constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in both iigures of the drawings.

l designates a dropaXle arranged at the front of a running-gear and provided at its ends with upwardly-extending L-shaped arms 2, terminating in horizontal journals upon which are mounted the front wheels 4. The central portion of the drop-axle has an axlebed secured to it, and a curved bar 6, which constitutes the front hounds and which forms a guide for the reach 7, is secured to the axle at the ends of the bed 5. The curved bar 6, which is substantially simicircular, projects in advance of the front axle and forms a pair of arms 8, to which the pole 9 is coupled. The arms of the axle are supported by side braces 10, having oppositely-inclined portions extending in advance and in -rear of the arms 2, as clearly illustrated in Fig. l of the accom panying drawings, and the central portions of the side braces are substantially rectangular and t the upper ends of the arms 2, to which they are secured.

The pole or tongue 9 is provided at its rear end with a cross-bar 10, which is supported by rearwardly-diverging bracing-rods 11 and the rear terminals ot' the latter are provided with eyes 12, which are coupled to suitable eyes or ears located at the ends of the semicircular bar 6. The front ends of the rods 1l are secured to the side edges of the tongue or pole, as clearly shown in Fig. 1 of the accompauying drawings.

The drop-axle is provided with a centrallyarranged forwardly-projecting perforated ear 13, which registers with corresponding ears 14 and 15 of bearing-plates of the axle and the front bolster 16 and with an ear 17 of a plate 1S, secured to the upper face of the bolster. The ears 14 and 15 are formed by extensions of the bearing-plates 19 and 20, which constitute the fifth-wheel of the rune ning-gear. ,The said ears, which are verti cally alined, receive a vertical king-bolt 2l, which is located in front ofthe front axle and which is preferably provided at its lower end with a nut; but a key or any other suitable fastening device maybe employed for retaining it in the perforations ot' the forwardlyprojecting ears.

The upper bearing-plate 2O is provided with a rearwardly-projecting arm 22,` to which the front end of the reach 7 is bolted, and the said reach is provided with a depending eye 23 to receive the curved bar (5, whereby the front axle is guided in turning a vehicle. The eye is preferably formed integral with a bracket or plate 24, which is bolted or otherwise secured to the reach. The front bolster is provided at its ends with standards, and the top plate 18, which forms awear-pla-te, extends across the entire space between the standards. i

It will be seen that the front portion ofthe running-gear is simple and comparatively in expensive in construction, that it is light, strong, and durable, and that it is especially adapted for long vehicles, such as lumberwagons and the like.

Changes in the form, proportion, size, and the minor details of construction within the scope of the appended claims may be resorted to without departing from the spirit orl sacricing any of the advantages of this invention.

What is claimed ism 1. A device of the class described comprising an axle provided at its bottom with. a for- IOO wardly-pro'jecting ear and having an axlebed, a bolster, bearing-plates interposed between the bolster and the axle-bed andprovided with ears arranged in alinement with the ear of the axle, an upper plate provided with an ear, a king-bolt passing through the said ears,a substantially semicireular bar eX- tending rearward from the axle and having` its terminals projectingq forwardly therefrom, a pole coupled to the ends of the curved bar, and a reach provided with a depending eye receiving the curved bar, substantially as described.

2. A device of the class described comprising a drop-axle having an axle-bed, a substantially semicircular bar extending rearward from the axle and having its terminals projecting forwardly therefrom, a pole coupled tothe ends of the curved bar, side braces extending from the arms of `the axle to the bar, a bolster mounted upon the axle, and a reach provided with a depending' eye receiv* in fr the curved bar, substantially as described.

3. A device of the class described comprising a drop-axle having upwardly-extending L-shaped arms terminatingin horizontal spindles, an axle-bed 5 secured to the axle and arranged between the vertical portions of the arms, the substantially semicircular bar extending;r rearward from the axle and having,lr its sides interposed between the ends of the axle-bed and the said arms, the side braces eX- tending from the t-ops'ot' the arms to the said bar, a reach, and a pole, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

CHAS. A. MCNAUGHTON.

W'itnesses:

CHAs. P. ALLEN, BURDEN E. Dow. 

